America's First Offshore Wind Farm to Power More Than 17000 Homes in Rhode Island

LIVERPOOL, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 12: Turbines of the new Burbo Bank off shore wind farm lay in the wake of a maintenance boat in the mouth of the River Mersey on May 12, 2008 in Liverpool, England. (Photo : Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Known as the Block Island Wind Farm, the first U.S. offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island has finally been opened. A total of five gigantic turbines larger than the Statue of Liberty were built and expected to power more than 17,000 homes on the island. According to reports, the farm started to generate energy on Monday and has delivered power to countless homes around the grid since then.

Though only consisting of five turbines, the farm is expected to provide more than 90 percent of the energy requirements of the island. According to a report from the Treehugger, each of the wind turbines can generate roughly 6 MW and is made by GE. The concept of the farm has been in the works since 2010, but its construction only started in early 2015.

Telegraph UK reported that this is a joint project between GE and Deepwater Wind, and the project costs about $300 million. Though the entire wind farm is only expected to produce roughly 30 MW of electricity every year, the wind farm is expected to expand further in the coming years. In fact, a lot of energy developers see this as a good opportunity to expand the industry further not only in Rhode Island but also throughout the United States, particularly in New York and Massachusetts.

The most advanced wind power generation systems are located in Europe, with the largest wind farm in the world located in Yorkshire Coast in the United Kingdom.

Now it seems that the United States is also upping its game toward greener and cleaner energy. The Block Island Wind Farm is another means for the country to produce renewable energy in place of power produced from burning coal. Since the island has been originally reliant on fuel-generated power, this wind farm is expected to reduce carbon emissions significantly.